


The Black Impala

by crabtr01



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, M/M, Pirates, Sky Pirates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-18 07:00:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4696616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crabtr01/pseuds/crabtr01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a legend of which sailors no longer speak...On the Sea So Far, there existed seven skies where treasure lay hidden in each. The realms were thriving and blessed with creatures, honest men, and money. But one day, a King from Hell found one of the treasures and shared it only with himself. With its magic behind his will, he spread his dark kingdom, and the apocalypse of old times seemed at hand.<br/>But...a young boy rose from Perdition, unaware. Welding a mark and the blade of his ancestor, he defeated the dark lord and restored the realms to their natural order. This boy, who traveled sea and sky to save the lands, was known as Cain Winchester. His tale had been passed down through heaven and hell for generations until it was scattered and lost in the aether. </p><p>Dean and Castiel are young hunters. Dean must travel the Seven Skies to save his brother and take revenge on the demon that killed his mother, Azazel. A giant MacGuffin quest for treasures, Sky Hunters, Air Ships, and possibly love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. His First Blade

**Author's Note:**

> I really like this concept, but it doesn't seem popular. I'l be adding a crossbones demon. I like how creative this genre allows for interpretations of Supernatural elements.

PROLOGUE  
A treasure map lays on a table featuring several landmasses and seas. A large X is located near the middle. Bloodstains litter the parchment. A strong wind catches its corner and the map rises, slipping through the porthole of a ship, and disappearing into the sunset.  
This is a legend of which sailors no longer speak...On the Sea So Far, there existed seven skies where treasure lay hidden in each. The realms were thriving and blessed with creatures, honest men, and money. But one day, a King from Hell found one of the treasures and shared it only with himself. With its magic behind his will, he spread his dark kingdom, and the apocalypse of old times seemed at hand.  
But...a young boy rose from Perdition, unaware. Welding a mark and the blade of his ancestor, he defeated the dark lord and restored the realms to their natural order. This boy, who traveled sea and sky to save the lands, was known as Cain Winchester. His tale had been passed down through heaven and hell for generations until it was scattered and lost in the aether.  
But soon, a time came when malevolent winds began to stir. The evil that Cain had kept at bay for centuries...rose from the pits of hell with but one desire to resume his reign.  
The heavens believed that the hero would also come again to fulfill a prophecy...but he did not appear. Evil began its second onslaught, and land and sea could do nothing but look to the heavens. As they neared the end times, as the apocalypse was certain to come, they prayed only to God for their survival. What fate had they ultimately met? There are none remaining who know save Death.  
The tale had disappeared the same as the hero, but the will of the hero survived on the whispers of the wind. On an island in the domain of Kansas, it was custom to pass down marks and fashion blades in honor of a man named Cain. The ancients wished only to instill the hunter’s spirit onto the next generation. 

LAWRENCE ISLAND  
“Brother!” Sam Winchester said. He moves down a hall to Dean’s bedroom. “Brother!”  
Dean is sleeping in his bed.  
“Brother! Dean!” Sam yells.  
This wakes Dean.  
“I knew it. It’s almost afternoon and you are still dreaming. I bet you forgot what day it is. Dean get up. Hey. Did you forget it was Dad’s birthday?  
Dean’s eyes snap open.  
“Mom has been waiting for us downstairs. She wants to see you, and she’s been waiting. Seriously, I don't know what you’d do without me. It’s a good thing I came up here early. You should probably go see Mom right now.”  
Dean rushes past Sam and heads downstairs. He sees his mom sitting at the table, and is greeted with a smile.  
“I thought you might be asleep. I hope Sam wasn’t too loud when he woke you. But here, I know you’ve been busy with work and hunting, so I thought it would be a good time to give you this. It’s been six years since your father passed...It seems like only yesterday he had made this...but here. You are old enough to have this now. Please, I’ve talked to Sam about it, so no fighting.”  
Dean’s face fell. He didn’t want anything from his father.  
“Dean, please don’t be disappointed. Just, try it out. Today is the Mark of Cain festival. You’re twelve, which means you are the same age as the ancient hero. You only have to use it for one day. I think your father would be proud though. You boys have grown into great little men. But please, I think your grandpa has some things to say before you head into town.”  
Dean takes the blade and slashes at the air.  
“How is the balance?” Mary asks.  
Dean nods to admit it is a nice fit.  
“I’d hoped so. It never suited John, and I thought he had made it for you. It looks  
like a perfect fit. I’m going to visit his grave with Sam, so you’d better get dressed and head over to your grandpa’s.”  
Back in his room, Dean found Sam glaring at the blade in his hand.  
“Hey, Dean. You look so cool. I hate that I’m not old enough for the festival, but I I only have to wait two more years. But...I know how you never really liked Dad. So,could you close your eyes for a second? I want to give you something...just a good luck charm that mom and I made.”  
Dean closed his eyes and felt something slip over his head, passed his ears, and fall into place around his neck.  
“Heh, I hope you like it. It’s an amulet that represents our bond as brothers. That way, a part of me and Mom will always be near you.”  
Dean examines the amulet, and rolls the gold pendant between his fingers.  
“Well, you better get to grandpa’s house. He gets angry over everything.”  
Dean patted Sam on the shoulder. “Thanks, Sammy. I’ll keep it safe.” Dean turned to leave, but before he could take a step, he heard his mother’s scream.  
He rushed down the stairs to the kitchen. Everything seemed to be in place except for a thick cloud of smoke.  
“Dean, what’s going on?” Sam asked behind him.  
“I don’t know. I can’t find Mom.” Dean said. His eyes were burning, but he did not blink. He examined everything.  
“Dean, on the ceiling! Mom!”  
Dean looked up and sees his mother in pain. She is pressed against the ceiling with a wound in her stomach.  
“Mom! Mom!” The boys yell together.  
A demon appears across the table. Dean runs the length of the room with the blade at the ready.  
“Oh, Dean. That blade has no effect on me without the Mark.” The demon said.  
His mother falls on the table consumed by flames. Sam uses the table cloth to try and put the flames out.  
“You’re defenseless. A worthless child. Nothing compared to the power your brother wields.” The demon told Dean as he deflected a blade with his fingers. “I do not have time to waste here with you. I’ve come to collect your brother.” The demon snapped his fingers and Mary was reduced to a pile of ash. Sam collapsed in tears.  
“Mom!” Sam yelled.  
The demon walked passed Dean, and took Sam into his arms. Dean yelled and plunged the blade into his back, but it did nothing. When he pulled it out, he was all alone. The demon had killed his mother and taken Sam.


	2. The Boy in the Clouds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The strongest and wisest angels of heaven sail aboard the H.O.H. Archangel. Among their crew and out of place is a young fletchling, Castiel. He has a unique interest in hunters, which is taboo among his kind. He sings to pass the time as he sails across the skies to reach port. There he will receive training and ultimately his job, so that he may join the ranks in the service of Heaven. But, to everyone's surprise, a human boy is found floating on the clouds. And he is only the first of several mysterious discoveries.

AXIS MUNDI SEA - DAY

There was a gray wall of fog, impenetrable from every angle. Only the faint sound of a young man singing escaped.  
“Yo, ho, yo, ho, a hunter’s life to be. Hal, le, lu, jah, we sail the seven seas…” Young!Castiel sings.  
He is aboard a colossal airship. It emerges from the mists, the maidenhead of an angel leads. It is the finest of heaven’s fleet, the H.O.H. Archangel. Unbreakable, intimidating, hundreds of gun ports and rail guns to fire. 

H.O.H. ARCHANGEL - FOREHEAVEN - DAY

Cas, with light brown hair dancing in the wind,sits on the bow, atop the railing, singing and looking out over the clouds, “...have faith all creation, yo, ho…”  
Uriel, a serious soul, with dark leathery skin, startles Cas, “Hush, young friend! Fallen angels sail these skies. We wouldn’t have you summoning them aboard?”  
Castiel stares wide-eyed at him.  
“Uriel.” Raphael asks.  
Raphael, a tough looking man, fierce and absolutely an Archangel, glares at Uriel. Michael stands beside him, an older man of the highest rank, his wings and angel blade always at the ready.  
“That is plenty,” Raphael says to Uriel.  
“The boy sang of hunters. It ain’t right to sing of hunting in the skies of heaven, and with us surrounded by the mist-- heed me, without will,” Uriel says.  
“Our will is God’s alone. I heed his will alone,” Raphael says.  
“'Aye, Captain.” Uriel moves off. “Worse luck to have a fletchling of the garrison on board, too. I bet he ain’t even able to fly.” He returns to his duties of inspecting the cannons, he takes a moment to recollect his pride as he readjusts his cuffs.  
“I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to be born a hunter,” Cas says.  
“That is not the lord’s will, young Castiel. Hunters are humans and lower creatures, mud monkeys the lot of them. It is our job to destroy any ship that dares to sail the heavenly skies beneath a hunter’s flag, or wears a hunter’s mark,” Raphael says.  
The ship lurches suddenly, and comes to an abrupt hault.  
“Captain Raphael...Thank you for your devotion, but I do not feel such dire temperament is to be requested of this fletchling.” Michael says.  
“My apologies, Senior.” Raphael says.  
“Actually, I find Archangels more interesting than even hunters!” Cas says.  
“Mind your concerns, Castiel. We will dock in Gardens of Eden soon, and you will begin training for your own regiment. Would you not be better suited for the heavenly choir or a lower garrison, perhaps a guardian?” Michael says.  
“Yes, Michael.” Cas says. Beaten by both angels words, he turns from them, to look back over the rail. “Still, I think it would be more exciting to meet a hunter…”  
The fog has grown thicker; the sea of clouds is nearly invisible --but suddenly, a silhouette flashes in the mist. A young boy, Dean Winchester, floats along without wings. He is face down in the sea. He is obviously one of the lesser creatures Raphael had spoken of, and he had no business being in this realm.  
“Michael! A boy! In the hell water!” Cas says. He points to the creature excitedly until he draws the attention of Raphael and Michael. They spot him, too.  
“Abomination!” Raphael says.  
“He is unearthed!” Cas says.  
“To wings! I will haul his vessel out!” Michael says.  
The deck is filled with movement and excitement. Michael is masterful in his recovery of the boy, and Raphael helps to haul him aboard. They lay him on the deck. Cas sidles in for close inspection.  
“He breathes.” Raphael says.  
“How did he pass into this realm?” Michael asks.  
“Holy blessed Mother and Father!” Uriel says. “His blasphemous words ring in everyone’s ears/  
Attention is stolen from the boy -- The fog is no longer compact. Wreckage of sky ships litter the clouds... along with the corpses of several crews of angels. A burning white light consumes most of it. The H.O.H. Archangel moves again, and nears the decimation. Michael's wings spread wide to call for silence.  
“What events have taken place?” Michael asks.  
“A battle between brothers, perhaps. These vessels and factions belonged to an order of guardians.” Raphael says.  
“Their wings have been...” Uriel says. Michael scowls at him. “Every mind on this ship thought it!I merely voice it for the record of heaven! Demons!”  
“Where is your proof, Uriel? This could be evidence of a coup or rebellion. These angels have been slaughtered. We must discern the truth from the hope that there are survivors, to wings!” Michael says.  
“If that is God’s will.” Raphael says. He turns to the crew. Ready the sails, the cannons, and your hands! To wings! Knock your heavenly weapons...raise your blades in God’s name!” He looks to Michael. “Let us not falter in our faith….our prayers and deeds are for the lord our God.”His Final message was to the remaining crew. “Remove the abomination from above deck. We’ll need him clear of a battlefield..”  
Castiel lifts the boy. Michael guides Cas away from the rail, away from the hideous scene in the water.  
“Castiel, I want you to guard the boy. He is your charge now.”  
Cas nods. Michael hurries away in a gust of wind. Several others rush past him as they take rise from the ship. Casl kneels down besides the boy. Something inside him stirs as his eyes examine the boys handsome face. He reaches a hand out to gently wipe a line of blood from the boy’s brow -- Suddenly, the boy stirs he grabs Cas’s hand. Cas is startled, but their eyes lock. He does not release the hand in his.  
“My name is Castiel.”  
“Dean Winchester.”  
“I am your guardian angel, Dean.”  
Dean takes in a deep breath of air, and pulls himself up with Cas’s grip. Dean’s vision is blurry, and as he takes in the surroundings, it is too much, and he returns to unconsciousness.  
From his struggle, his jacket has unsnapped open; Cas see a medallion hanging around Dean’s neck. He lifts it in his free hand to study it. He then moves his gaze to a blade in the boy’s side pocket. Cas tugs at it -- a bone of sharpened jaw. It is a simple human tool, but to his mind, it it brings a joy greater than any other:  
“You're a hunter.”  
Cas glances back at the events around him. He can see Raphael, giving orders, moving back toward the ship. Cas looks back at Dean -- his hand grips the boy’s and Cas makes a decision. In a blur he takes the blade from the boy’s pocket and places it in a pocket of his own. Raphael arrives beside them.  
“Has he stirred?” Raphael asks.  
“His name is Dean Winchester -- he appears to be a simple human.” Castiel said.  
“Very well.” Raphael says, he hurries off to the back of the ship.  
Castiel fastens Dean’s jacket and props him against a barrel. He rests beside him and pulls his knees into his chest.  
Above he can hear excitement from the crew.  
“They have recovered a ship! There were no survivors, but it is an artifact of legend. Michael reclaimed without a doubt. He called it...the Black Impala.”


	3. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas, putting all of his faith in the hunter, makes an effort to help Dean escape.

“Wake up, Dean Winchester!”  
Dean opened his eyes. He found himself staring at the smooth iron panels of a masterfully crafted airship, like a blade’s fuller reaching to a single point - like an angel blade. Lifting himself from the barrel against the fight of his swollen muscles, he realized that the angel he had dreamed saving him was all too real.   
“You’ve slept through the battle! They’ve returned to the ship for discussion.” The voice of the angel, Castiel, echoed in his ears like the ocean. “I must command you to wake.”  
Dean gently rocked the voice from his head and nodded - a line of blood stained his shirt. He wondered if passing out with an unsheathed knife in his pocket had been the wisest decision.   
“Alright, I hear you, Castiel. Thank you for saving me.”  
“Call me Cas. And yes, I can see that, but we should move quickly.” Cas was darting about the windows of the small cramped darkness that surrounded them, looking back to check if Dean had risen to his feet. “One more moment of rest, and then we will have to get you off this ship.”  
Dean rubbed his eyes, taking a glance out the windows, to the aftermath. It was a sunrise of flames on a literal horizon with the remains of airships floating below. He could barely remember how he had ended up beside this angel and not at the bottom of the clouds, plummeting toward the ground. “It’s fine. I hadn’t planned to take passage on this ship.”   
“Yes, but how do you plan to travel the skies?”  
Dean chuckled. He’d only realized his regular mode of transportation was probably in pieces, scattered amongst the atmosphere, no longer able to be salvaged. “Yeah, I haven’t thought that far, Cas. I guess I’ll just have to take over this ship.”  
Castiel scratched his head with squinted eyes, a total confusion spreading over his face. “Yes, well perhaps you aren’t as rested as I thought. There will be no way we could take this ship. Perhaps there is something to be saved in the rubble. I can fly us out there.”  
“You can fly?” Dean asked. “I thought all of that wing crap was metaphorical.”  
“I haven’t been trained by an academy.” Castiel stepped forward taking Dean’s hand into his own in a whisper. “But my friend Balthazar and I were taught by a master in secret. I can’t manifest them for longer than five minutes, however.”   
“You can make it to ground?” Dean asked.   
“I can’t fly that far, not while carrying you, too.” He pulled Dean toward a door and poked his face out before they emerged, and broke into a sprint.   
Dean sighed, still in a haze. But he had no time to construct a sane plan.   
Cas kept hold of his hand. “Get your blade ready, and do not let go of my hand for any reason. If anything or anyone comes at you, we do not have time to fight head on.”  
Dean stared sickly down at the clouds below the ship. After Cas had taken flight without his consent and he nearly dropped his blade, the idea of falling consumed him. But, if he had stayed on the ship of angels, he would have no chance of getting past more than the plank once they found out he was a hunter, and not a common passenger. He knew it was impossible to lie to one, unless being an angelic being himself.   
He’d gripped Cas’s hand tighter to adjust for the nervous perspiration forming, and he was sweating bullets - each one aimed perfectly to put him in an early grave. But Cas seemed aware and capable of holding him tight. The numbness and the squeeze that stunted Dean’s circulation had more than convinced him of that.   
Angels were something else...something that piqued Dean’s curiosity.   
When they had landed, Dean rubbed his hand to return some of the feeling. Castiel had stopped to stare at him for direction. The confident command of the skies was now replaced by a patient follower pressed for a direction.   
“Where to?” he said finally. “Do you have a plan?”  
Dean’s eyes scanned the area, but he saw nothing short of suicide.  
“I have about two minutes left, okay?” Cas added.  
In a snap, Dean nodded. “Aight, I guess we’re taking the lesser of two evils. Let’s just hope the angels cleared the ship of any survivors.”  
Castiel’s eyes widened with utter shock, his hand gripping Dean’s again. “I had hoped you’d be more resourceful and crafty.”   
Dean laughed, patting Cas on the forearm. “I like to think on my feet. I’m a little out of my element right now.”

The Black Impala was almost as impressive as the Archangel in terms of build -- just as colossal too. The deck that Castiel had brought them to seemed excessively large and vacant against the backdrop of wings in the distance, the length of the ship matching their collective wingspans. The massive, classic wheel had both Cas and Dean sweating before it made a full cycle.  
Dean stared toward the horizon, focusing on the only exit forming in a parting in the mist. The background was chaotic, but the Archangel was stoic, too big to notice the two board the Impala, too weighted now to match their speed. But Dean had finally awoken to take in his current situation. It was then he began to wonder why this angel helped him in the first place.  
Not that he wasn’t grateful -- his solo attempt would have spelled certain death. It was the hunter’s first rule to never find themselves in the same skies as the Archangel: and the second and the third. But something in the angel’s look seemed to instill instant trust in Dean’s mind.   
Since steadying the wheel with Cas, Dean’s nervous sweat had become different from the near death experience ones. Could this angel have some secret agenda? Did Dean seriously just trust Cas with his life so easily without even thinking? Or was this rebel angel as innocent and honest as he looked on the outside?  
The Black Impala’s first dock was in the mountain cove of an overgrown island. Dean had expected Cas to disembark there, but he found himself staring back at the same hesitant look of apprehension. The sight of Cas’s expectancy made Dean’s stomach shudder.   
How much trouble would Castiel now be in since he had dissented? Was he really expecting Dean to provide him with orders? Was Dean actually awake or was he still unconscious?  
It was too odd, having an angel standing beside him. A being that could fly and kill him with a single touch, now under his orders at the helm of the ship Dean had always dreamed of flying. On top of all of this, he had survived a battle of his own making, and his plan had played out perfectly as the Archangel had been drawn to the Impala to eradicate his enemies. Two birds, one stone. Dean thought, but then realized the metaphor also applied to him and Cas.   
Two birds, felled from the skies, with nothing but the stone to show for.   
His brother was still out there, not having been on the ship after Dean had inspected it before plunging himself into the Sea of Perdition. In earnest, he had intended to give up -- on life -- but it now seemed things were taking a turn for the better, and with a new wind in his new sails, he could search for Sam without setbacks.   
He looked over to the anxious face of the angel. Castiel smiled with glee having finally noticed ambition swimming in his new Captain’s eyes. Cas had never seen the ground of the earth so closely before, and that only added to his current unrest. He almost reached out for Dean’s hand again before realizing how invasive it might now be.   
“All right, Captain Winchester,” he said quietly as they neared the shore. “What is our current mission...er...mark...uh…”  
Dean snorted. An hour ago Castiel had been filled with confidence and an impressive control of his wings -- looking at his back now, slightly slouched, bare of magical feathers, he looked more like an overgrown child with his shoulders shrugged.   
“Call me, Dean,” he reminded. “But, if you are going to call me captain, don’t you think you should explain why you’d join a hunter’s crew?”  
Cas didn’t smile. “I was consumed by curiosity.” He said nothing more, expecting Dean to understand the entirety of his soul in that one response. Five words in one sentence, summing up his entire absolute existence.   
“Oh, is that all?” Dean said. He rolled his eyes with a shake of annoyance.  
“Yes, Captain.” Cas said and saluted with a smile. “As Lieutenant, may I express how excited I am to be serving beneath an actual hunter?”  
When Cas held out his hand to Dean, he felt a moment of such emotion that he had never experienced before. Here was an actual hunter who had taken him into his crew, let him shake his hand, and allowed him to speak.  
Dean shook hard to make his gratitude apparent. “It’s a pleasure, but you can cut all that formal crap. I’m used to a solo act -- that is, I’m not sure I’m the captain of a crew type.”  
Castiel cleared his throat, taking his hand back, and staring at the ground as he spoke. “My apologies, I mean I should not have been so hasty -- I should have known you have your own ways -- I have been an idiot.”   
“Hey, don’t be like that.” Dean shook his head. Dean had never felt old, and he had never been shown such respect. He considered the angel for a moment, and then with his best attempt he mustered a facade of maturity.   
Castiel bowed and then turned his eyes to the sky. He took note of the sun and tried to remember where the barracks might be located.   
“Thank you,” Cas said. “It has been an honor to help you. I will never forget this time on our short adventure. I wish you safe travels, Dean Winchester.”  
“Aye, well, the same to you brave angel.” He patted Cas on the back. “A shame you can’t stick around to serve on my crew and this ship.”  
“Yes, well, I would have loved nothing more.” Cas had begun walking after he gave Dean one last nod.   
Dean nudged him from behind, and raised his blade in the air. He turned the hilt in his hand and offered it to Cas.   
“As Lieutenant, you first task would be to polish my sword.”  
Cas took it, but was confused. “It could hardly be considered a dagger.”  
Dean pretended not to notice, which was difficult because Cas had nearly cut his own wrist open from wiping it against his sleeve.   
Dean quickly swiped it back. “It seems to be in order. A fine job, indeed. I could ask for no better than from my new right hand.”   
Castiel stood stiffly against his gaze, the same expectant eyes waiting.   
Should Dean let this angel tag along? He was odd. Was he making a mistake?   
“A little wooden aren’t you?” Dean asked.   
“My apologies, Captain, I mean...Dean.”  
Dean gave a smile. “Well, we’ll have you sorted out in no time. Now, come, let’s have an adventure.”


End file.
